Thumbing Through Vinyl Records

Too many times have I seen someone unintentionally and regrettably ignore another person and sounds from the outside world because they had headphones in their ears. Mp3 players and phones are clearly the current way to listen to music. CD players have been eclipsed, and certainly – for the most part – vinyl records are prehistoric. But, there is a population who still does enjoy setting the record layer needle into the vinyl grooves to enjoy their music.

Thumbing through vinyl covers one by one is a tedious process, but 21 year old DePaul student Gerasimos Garbis was taking his time as he flipped through cover after cover at the Groovin’ High record store on Belmont Avenue. As I casually perused myself, one by one I watched him flip through row after row of records. Being the only person in the store other than the store’s clerk and myself, I asked him what fuels his interest in vinyls, why he was currently looking through all these records.

“Honestly, I just kind of like them. I think they sound great on record players; in fact I like this sound better than through headphones. It feels more crisp and real.” He later added, “Records are hip and in right now, within the past few years, they’ve been making a comeback. I have a collection at home, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon.” Being interested in his efforts of looking through countless records, I mentioned how finding music on a laptop or mobile device is very quick and easy, and asked him if there was anything in particular that he was looking for, and he said, “Coldplay is one of my favorite bands. I’m looking for some of their albums. Having the tangible real thing means more than just an electronic file copy of it.”

Yeah, plugging earphones in your phone or other mp3 player is an efficient way to listen to music on the go, but more people than one would think have brushed the dust off their parents’ record players and have began to add to that collection.